Selena

A 10-year-old Texas girl has been chosen from among thousands of girls who answered a nationwide casting call to portray the slain Tejano singer Selena as a child in an upcoming movie. Becky Lee Meza of Harlington, Texas, will earned the role of Selena as a child. Jennifer Lopez was selected last week to play Selena as an adult. Both actresses were among 20,000 girls and young women who responded to nationwide casting calls for starrring roles in the $20 million Warner Bros. film Selena.

So, Justin Bieber is in trouble. Again. Big trouble, actually, as he faces charges in South Florida of DUI, resisting arrest, driving with a suspended license and drag racing. If bad judgment was a crime, he'd be charged with a felony. Now everyone is really, really worried about the Biebs. I'm not. I'm worried about Selena. Selena Gomez, a Disney darling and star in her own right, is the on-and-off girlfriend of Bieber. When Selena recently canceled her Australian concert tour due to illness (possibly Lupus-related)

Edward James Olmos is preparing to stand and deliver what he says is his toughest role yet - playing the father of Selena. The movie about the Grammy-winning Tejano singer wrapped up shooting in San Antonio and moved to Corpus Christi, where Selena was shot to death last year. "I've never had to play someone who is the father of someone who was killed," Olmos, 49, said recently. Selena is to be released in April. Olmos is best known for his role in the 1980s TV crime series Miami Vice and his Oscar-nominated portrayal of an inspiring high school mathematics teacher in Stand and Deliver.

Selena is the type of movie only a die-hard Selena fan can love. Everyone else wishes they could love it. There's the beautiful Jennifer Lopez, who stars as the pop singer, soulful songs by Selena, gorgeous costumes, and almost interesting characters that never develop. But that's it. The rest doesn't really make sense. The movie goes through flashbacks that never come together to make a point. They say little to nothing about Selena. Lopez is stunning in performance sequences. As she lip syncs I Could Fall In Love, viewers may believe she is singing, but won't believe she's Selena.

After the March 31, 1995, shooting death of her younger sister, Suzette Quintanilla stopped playing the drums. Instead, she dedicated her time to making sure that the world would never forget Selena. Fifteen years later, fans have hardly forgotten the queen of Tex-Mex music, whose rise to fame and tragic death at 23 inspired a Jennifer Lopez movie and helped create a legend. That legacy now gets another boost with the March 9 release of La Leyenda (The Legend). The box set from Capitol Latin/EMI contains four CDs with Selena recordings in Spanish and English, along with a bound book filled with messages from the Tejana singer's family, friends and fans.

EMI Records is putting together a retrospective Selena album that will include both English and Spanish songs. At the time of her death, Selena had completed four tracks on what was to have been her English-language debut for the EMI/SBK label. Although the tribute album is still in the planning stages, it will include those tracks as well as a duet Selena recorded with David Byrne for the movie Don Juan DeMarco that was cut from the film. She also had recorded a track in English for a forthcoming tribute to Leonard Bernstein.

When Tejano star Selena took the stage at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Feb. 26, 1995, it was supposed to be her coronation as a crossover superstar. Instead it became her last concert. Thirty-three days later Selena was shot to death in Corpus Christi by the founder of her fan club. She was 23. Today, Image Entertainment releases Selena: The Last Performance, the first DVD to feature footage of the Astrodome show. In addition to a dance medley opener that featured Selena singing disco hits I Will Survive, Funky Town and The Hustle, the concert was heavy on hits from her Amor Prohibido album.

Could this be the birth of Selena the disco queen? The Selena movie soundtrack, which hits stores March 11, focuses on the late Tejano star's affinity for dance music. A disco medley recorded during her 1995 Houston Astrodome concert has been broken up into two cuts: Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive and Lipps Inc.'s Funkytown on the first, Van McCoy's The Hustle and Donna Summer's Last Dance and On the Radio on the second. But there's more of the club Selena on the CD, which will be released 10 days before the film makes its nationwide debut March 21. Is It the Beat?

SELENA (Warner, priced for rental, rated PG) 1997. Directed by Gregory Nava; starring Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda, Constance Marie, Jacob Vargas, Lupe Ontiveros, Jackie Guerra, Rebecca Lee Maza, Ruben Gonzales and Pete Astudillo. Selena is a fitting tribute to the young Grammy Award-winning singer whose life was taken just as she was beginning to cross the bridge between Mexican and U.S. audiences. "Tribute" is a fitting word, in light of the film's portrayal of Selena (Jennifer Lopez)

Selena Gomez has plenty to smile about these days. The 20-year-old starlet who shot to fame in 2007 with the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place has been taking a break from her chart-topping music career to make movies. South Florida Parenting caught up with Gomez in an ocean-front suite at posh Miami Beach hotel Soho House Sept. 17. Dressed in a sleeveless pink top, jeans and flaunting freshly manicured fingers painted with black nail polish, Gomez was as adorable in real life as Mavis, the character she plays in Adam Sandler's new animated film, Hotel Transylvania.

With the animated adventure "Hotel Transylvania" set to open nationwide this weekend, Teenlink sat down with Selena Gomez, who voices the 118-year-old Mavis to talk about the upcoming film. Teenlink: What is the biggest lesson that you think teens can take from Hotel Transylvania? Selena: "Honestly, it could be the independence part, growing up and kind of wanting your own time to be yourself. That's hard at first. You spend all this time with your parents, they've raised you, and then you're just kind of like "Alright, peace, I'm going out. " And they're just like, "Wait, what's going on?

Tween stars Selena Gomez and Miranda Cosgrove will play Mizner Park Amphitheater this summer, and some say the Boca Raton venue may be a perfect spot for more squeaky-clean, preteen pop concerts. Two of the hottest names in "tween" entertainment will perform at Boca Raton 's Mizner Park Amphitheater this summer, and some say the venue may be a perfect spot for more squeaky-clean, preteen pop concerts. Disney star Selena Gomez will perform to a sold-out crowd at the amphitheater on July 28, and tickets are available for a Sept.

As I nervously waited to interview Selena Gomez at Miami's Four Seasons hotel, I didn't know what to expect. Sure, she seemed like a nice girl, but how can you really know? Cool, Calm, Collected -- that was my plan, but as soon as I saw her, I was even more nervous, if that's even possible. She was even more pretty (and tiny) in person. When we sat down, and I nervously took out my tape recorder and introduced myself she was very nice, and even laughed at my corny jokes.

As if she needed another reason to drag you to the mall, a June 21 appearance by red-hot singer-actress Selena Gomez will put Miami International Mall in Doral in many a young girl's crosshairs for an afternoon that will include free mini makeovers and a Gomez fan Q&A. Gomez, once known for Disney Channel's "Witches of Waverly Place" and now most often seen on the arm of pop idol Justin Bieber, is on a 10-city mall tour themed to her accidental-heiress romp,...

The hair, the style, the look, then the clothing line and on-screen portrayal. What hasn't Jennifer Lopez (excuse me, J.Lo) done that doesn't scream secondhand Selena? Trashin' the fashion: While J.Lo has taken "sexy" to an all new level (basically she's nixed the `y' in sexy all together and sells just the root word), thanks to that brooched robe (the famous Versace dress). Let's not forget that Selena's fashion efforts were a bit risque for the time, what with the jeweled bustiers and all. But J.Lo's borderline-burlesque display always seems to prove that despite Selena's fashion influence, she can just as easily make Selena look like a choirgirl.

American publishers have long been aware that there is money to be made selling books to the growing Hispanic population in this country. And now several houses have acted on that notion, starting Spanish-language imprints or joining with Spanish publishers to distribute books. But in this supremely unscientific business, where market surveys are almost nonexistent and publishers scowl when asked who actually reads in Spanish (or any other language for that matter), Pocket Books appears to have found at least one creative and successful answer.

After the March 31, 1995, shooting death of her younger sister, Suzette Quintanilla stopped playing the drums. Instead, she dedicated her time to making sure that the world would never forget Selena. Fifteen years later, fans have hardly forgotten the queen of Tex-Mex music, whose rise to fame and tragic death at 23 inspired a Jennifer Lopez movie and helped create a legend. That legacy now gets another boost with the March 9 release of La Leyenda (The Legend). The box set from Capitol Latin/EMI contains four CDs with Selena recordings in Spanish and English, along with a bound book filled with messages from the Tejana singer's family, friends and fans.